Harvesting operations for crops such as corn, wheat, soybeans, and rice are often completed by agricultural machines that include multiple reciprocating knives at the leading edge of the machine. The reciprocating knives sever the crop plants at their roots, permitting the harvested crops to fall onto one or more belt conveyors before they are transported by a central conveyor to a feederhouse conveyor and transported into the combine for further processing and storage.
The feederhouse conveyor inside the feederhouse may become clogged when the crop being transported piles up against the leading edge of one of the slats which push the crop. This may cause acyclic and non-continuous delivery of the crop into the combine which is undesirable as it introduces higher loads to the feederhouse conveyor system. In severe cases, crop buildup may interfere with the rotary parts of the belt system and cause jamming. Crop buildup may also damage the crop, and decrease the efficiency of the feederhouse conveyor as well as the processing systems to which the crop is delivered.